1. The Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improvement in an actuator forming part of a mirror disc for attachment to a motor vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Actuators for motor vehicle mirrors have been known for a long time. As a rule, they comprise a drive housing and a carrier plate for a mirror disc. The drive housing is generally fixed to the motor vehicle. The carrier plate for the mirror disc is driven and may be pivoted relative to the drive housing. Pivoting of the carrier plate occurs by means of electric motors that are arranged in the drive housing. Because the motor vehicle mirror as a whole is supposed to occupy as little outside volume as possible, the arrangement of the drive housing and the carrier plate must be as compact as possible.
In a prior art embodiment known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,174,062, Adjustable Rear-View Mirror For A Vehicle, the carrier plate is fixed in the middle by means of a screw running through the middle of the drive housing in such a way that the carrier plate may be pivoted around two pivot axes that run perpendicular to one another. However, the inner chamber of the drive housing is separated by the screw that runs through the middle of the drive housing in such a way that it is essentially impossible to introduce additional electronic components into the drive housing.
An object of the invention is to create an actuator for a mirror disc to be mounted on a motor vehicle in which electronic components are integrated into the actuator so as to save as much space as possible.
The object is attained by constructing the drive housing so that it is in two parts forming a drive chamber for holding electric motors and a component chamber for holding electronic components. The core of the invention lies in constructing the drive housing in two parts, with the electric drive being disposed in one part of the drive housing and the electronic components in the other part of the drive housing. Both parts of the drive housing together form the drive housing. At the same time, the drive chamber is separated from the component chamber.
Further advantageous constructions of the invention can be found in the subclaims.
Additional features and details of the invention can be found in the description of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawings, which show: